Sørensen signs for three years

Team CSC has announced the extension of Chris Anker Sørensen's contract with the Danish outfit. The Dane's contract has been extended by three years, seeing Sørensen stay with the outfit until 2010. "It's only natural for us to extend Chris' contract, because he's really impressed in his first season as a pro," said team owner Bjarne Riis. "He's a big talent and he's already able to compete in the toughest races. His abilities as a climber are obvious to anyone and he's also proved to be a valuable and loyal helper as well as a great team mate.

The 23 year-old finished second in the Deutschland Tour's young riders' competition and the Tour de Romandie's mountains competition last season. The youngster rode for Team Desgina Køkken during 2006 before moving to Team CSC last season. "I have no doubt that he has the potential to be at the very top in the biggest stage races," added Riis.

Sørensen is happy with the announcement that will see him ride for his nation's only ProTour team through to 2010. "I'm happy to have my future at Team CSC in place so I'm now able to focus 100% on developing as a rider," he said. "I've never had any doubts that this is the right team for me and here I'll get the opportunities to become a better rider.

The young rider is turning his attention to the Grand Tours in 2008, with the aim of building towards a Tour de France assault over the coming years. "This year my ambition is to get a top-10 spot in Giro d'Italia to hopefully pave the way to the Tour line-up within the next couple of seasons," he noted.